


A small push

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Idiots in Love, Jedi Maul (Star Wars), M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Teasing, but not really, but they haven't realized it yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27494611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: “You look unhappy, master,” Anakin comments as he accompanies Obi-Wan to the hangar. He’s sensed his irritation from that morning, though he also has no idea why he’d be in such a foul mood. For once, he has nothing to do with it.“Maul has been assigned to help us out on our next mission,” Obi-Wan sighs, looking like he wants to die, which doesn’t add up.“Last time I checked you were friends. Did something happen?”“He always tries to steal my commander away from me.”A story about two (clueless) people.
Relationships: Boil & Waxer (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody & CC-3636 | Wolffe, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody/Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Maul
Comments: 16
Kudos: 66





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> You must be asking yourself how I came to ship such a curious pairing. Well, the answer is pretty simple: my Obi-Wan otp is Codywan, while my buddy's is Obimaul. We were talking about a possible modern AU and I jokingly suggested make them a polyship so we were all happy, then we became invested, then we realized that Cody and Maul could have some potention together even without Obi-Wan and now we're in too deep.  
> My buddy had in mind an entire canon compliant series where Cody meets Maul after Order 66, but they gave me permission to write it. Long stories aren't my strong suit, so I'll see what I can do about it, since even though I love AUs for them, I also feel like I should try to play with canon a bit more.

“You look unhappy, master,” Anakin comments as he accompanies Obi-Wan to the hangar. He’s sensed his irritation from that morning, though he also has no idea why he’d be in such a foul mood. For once, he has nothing to do with it.

“Maul has been assigned to help us out on our next mission,” Obi-Wan sighs, looking like he wants to die, which doesn’t add up.

“Last time I checked you were friends. Did something happen?”

“He always tries to steal my commander away from me.”

Anakin shouldn’t have cackled at that, but he still does, which prompts Obi-Wan to glare at him, which in turn makes Anakin laugh even harder.

It’s just such a funny idea, he doesn’t know why.

The Maul Anakin remembers was brash, standoffish and a bit of a dick. He has nothing in common with someone as serious as Cody!

“And I imagine Cody must reject him every time, eh?” he teases, because the idea of Obi-Wan having to be involved in this makes everything even funnier.

Speaking of his master, he turns towards Anakin, looking at him like he just said the most stupid thing in all the galaxy.

“Reject him?” he repeats, incredulous, “He’s this close to say yes!”

“What? I don’t believe you! Do they even get along?”

“I don’t think they’ve ever met someone who resonates with them so much,” Obi-Wan replies, then he adds, noticing Anakin’s surprised expression, “You have an opinion of the commander that is far from the truth.”

“Yes, apparently!” Anakin replies. He wants to know more, but Obi-Wan doesn’t seem willing to share. Oh well, he can always ask Rex later.

Maybe the stories of Cody kicking droids are true. If that’s the case, Anakin has misjudged him greatly.

“Is this why you asked me and not him to accompany you at the hangar?” A nod from Obi-Wan is all the answer he needs.

“The less time I manage to make them spend together, the better my headache will be.”

“Are they… together?”

It may be rude to ask, but now Anakin is really curious.

“Not that I know,” Obi-Wan shrugs, “Which might be the most annoying part, watching them dance around each other without doing anything about it.”

Oooh, now Anakin understands.

“And why don’t you talk to Cody about it?” It was meant to be an innocent ask; he didn’t mean to set off Obi-Wan like that.

“I tried! You know how awkward it was?!” he angrily snaps at him in fact.

If it’s as awkward as that time Obi-Wan tried to give him _the talk_ , then Anakin has a hunch.

They drop that topic and walk again in silence. Better to leave Obi-Wan on his own when he’s like this rather than fan the fire.

Anakin has much to think about on his own, after all.

They arrive at the hangar and Anakin almost loses it: not only Maul is already there, but apparently Cody has arrived there way before them, because they’re already talking to each other. Obi-Wan’s plan clearly didn’t work.

He turns towards his master, and he can see that he clearly doesn’t appreciate it; he’s _fuming_.

He can’t help but to chuckle at the way his master stomps towards them. Maul already has his arm around Cody’s shoulder, so this should be fun.

“You’re early,” Obi-Wan says, making Maul roll his eyes.

“Last time you complained that I was late,” he comments, prompting a bickering discussion between the two, and still Maul doesn’t leave Cody’s side, nor does he pull away.

Now Anakin understands Obi-Wan’s pain, he understands it so much. For a moment he wonders if he and Padmé were ever this obvious, but he pushes that thought aside; clearly, they haven’t been this bad, because at least they were aware of their feelings for each other, not like Cody and Maul.

Maybe this is all a trick? Maybe they _are_ together and they’re just fucking with Obi-Wan? It could be. If they are, then Anakin will have to thank them because he was having the time of his life before, and he’s sure that now things will get even better because if Obi-Wan has started to vent to him about this, he’ll certainly do it again, Anakin will be ready to listen and try not to laugh at his poor master’s expense too much.

He thought this mission was going to be boring, but turns out that he might’ve found a source of entertainment after all.

Oh, he can’t wait to tell Snips about this.


	2. How the 212th sees it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although it’s true that the situation between his commander and general Maul is quite unnerving, Boil still would rather mind his business, unlike Waxer who lives for gossip.

The previous day, during the debrief, Boil’s eyes immediately shoot towards Cody when he hears that general Maul will join them. He can’t thank having his bucket on enough, because nobody notices, especially Cody, who would certainly question his behaviour.

Waxer, on the other part, doesn’t care for subtlety at all, and he begins to snicker, prompting Boil to “gently” elbow him in order to make him stop, or else they might get found out.

… Unfortunately, however, _they get found out_.

“Boil, Waxer,” Cody calls them out with that tone that usually means latrine duty for at least a week, “Is there something you wish to say?”

“No sir,” Boil quickly replies, tone as neutral as he can manage.

“No sir,” Waxer echoes him, though it’s obvious that he’s trying his hardest not to laugh. Boil swears, if he gets them in trouble, he’s going to kick his shebs.

Luckily for them, Cody doesn’t inquire further. He keeps staring, bucket turned towards them, but he stays silent, letting general Kenobi continue with the debrief.

Their mission isn’t that complicated. It’s fairly standard, actually: a droid facility has been located in one of those “supposed” neutral planets and they have to destroy it. Nothing they haven’t done already.

Then how can they explain Maul’s presence? Apparently there are rumors regarding the presence of a certain separatist cyborg general who’s been waiting to get his order of troops - not unlike what happens on the Republic side, some bitter minds think.

Usually general Kenobi wouldn’t have problems keeping Grievous at bay, but in light of a recent injury he sustained, he might be in need of some help. Nobody’s fond of the idea of losing such a valuable person to the war efforts, after all, which in a way relieves the troopers: they absolutely don’t want any harm to come to their general, and with Maul present, things might go smoother than usual.

So, while the 501st conducts a frontal assault, the 212th and Maul will attack from behind and enter while the main forces are distracted. It should be easy, but who knows how it will actually go.

Knowing their luck, something is meant to go awry.

After the debrief the troopers dispatch into various groups.

“Where are you going?” Waxer asks, turning to Boil.

“Gonna take a shower I think,” the other replies, beginning to walk away. Waxer trots along.

“I think I’m gonna take one too,” he mutters, thoughtful. Boil smirks.

“Yeah you really should,” he says, “You stink.”

They begin a half-hearted brawl that continues until they arrive to the communal showers. Well, they would’ve continued it there too, if only they hadn’t noticed that commander Cody’s there too, which makes them immediately stop, because even though they’re in an informal setting, they’re both smart enough to be on their best behavior or at least try to.

Waxer leans closer to Boil, whispering in his ear:

“Do you think he’s gotten all prettied up for his crush?”

Boil sighs, shaking his head. Normally he’d go along with Waxer’s jokes, but this seems like too much, especially considering that this is how Cody always acts.

Although it’s true that the situation between his commander and general Maul is quite unnerving, he still would rather mind his business, unlike Waxer who lives for gossip. It’s a way to entertain yourself, he supposes.

Still, even though he can accept Waxer’s obsession, he certainly doesn’t approve of how he goes about it; that di’kut seriously has a death wish. That’s all he can think as Waxer approaches Cody, who is intent on putting on a new, fresher, pair of blacks, so that he can later put on his armor and go back to his duties.

“So… Maul, eh?” he says in an attempt to start a conversation.

He should learn to keep his mouth shout; not that Boil cares, but usually when he gets punished he always gets dragged down with him for some reason and he’d rather avoid that this time - well, all the time, but this one in particular.

Just why did he think it was a good idea to ask Cody that in front of the troopers? He’s really asking for latrine duty now.

“That’s _general_ Maul for you,” is all Cody says. Eh, it could’ve been worse, way worse. It still doesn’t mean that Waxer’s going to avoid any sort of punishment though.

Boil, being clearly the smartest of the two, keeps his distance, but not enough that it would impede him to hear their conversation; he wants to stay out of trouble, yes, but he still wants to know what they’re saying.

Even though he’s not looking at them as he begins to take off his armor, pretending he’s minding his own business, he can feel Waxer’s eye roll at those words.

“ _General_ Maul, sure…” he humors him. “So, are you happy that he’s coming with us?”

“What kind of question is that?” Cody asks, confused. “I guess I am. We’ll have more power to take down the facility.”

Waxer chuckles at those words.

“That’s it?” he presses further. At this point, Cody must’ve noticed that there is something he’s trying to imply, though he still doesn’t know what.

“What else is there to be?”

“Oh, come on sir, we all know about that little crush of yours!”

Silence, complete silence.

Boil really didn’t mean to speak out loud - he cares about staying alive thank you very much - but he couldn’t help it. He doesn’t know if the commander is actually this oblivious or if he thinks they’re dumb, but this little charade has been going on for too long.

He regrets everything he’s ever done that brought him to this however when the commander turns around to look at him. If looks could kill, he’d be dead where he’s standing, he’s sure of it.

Cody, who in the meantime also managed to put his armor on, takes a step towards him. Boil prays for his life.

“I see how it is…” he begins, voice low and dangerous. “Since you and Waxer seem to have so much free time in your hands that you can go around making jokes, you’ll also have enough time to scrub the gyms clean.” He puts his bucket on. “I expect you to finish by latemeal.”

With that he leaves, and without him the atmosphere inside the changing room livens up again, though it’s because people are laughing at the two idiots.

“Nice job, _vod_ ,” Waxer tells Boil, jamming his elbow right down the other’s ribs. Cleaning the gyms is the second worst punishment they could’ve gotten: the stench of sweat, the fact that they’ll have to clean all the gym equipment and the fact that there are multiple rooms in play… Ugh, they’ll never be done with this.

“You started it!” Boil retorts, jamming a finger at Waxer’s chest, accusatory.

“And you finished it!” Waxer defends himself. If they keep accusing each other like that, things are surely going to escalate; surely Cody will find out about it, and if he wasn’t mad before, he would surely be mad now. Scratch that, he’d be _furious_.

“Uh, guys? Shouldn’t you begin cleaning up?” It’s Wooley the one he speaks, breaking the fight before it could even happen.

Waxer and Boil turn to look at each other. The kid’s right, they should go.

They were supposed to take a shower first, but why bother when they’re surely going to take another one once they’re done cleaning? It would only be a waste of precious time.

“Race you to the gyms!” Waxer suddenly exclaims, not even waiting to finish the sentence before bolting out of the changing room. _That bastard!_

“Hey! Not fair!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus Waxer and Boil died, killed by Cody. The end


	3. A talk between brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody receives a call.

The morning of their departure, Cody wakes up even earlier than he usually does. It happens often when they are on missions: he can use more precious time to check that everything’s in order and that the troopers are well-equipped and know what they’re doing.

This isn’t the only reason why he’s up already: last night he received a message from general Maul, telling him the time of his arrival, which will be shortly. He doesn’t bother telling Kenobi about this, convinced that he must know already, and also maybe because there’s a tiny bit of hope inside him that like this he’ll get to spend at least a few minutes with the zabrak jedi alone; it’s not exactly a long time, but Cody is well aware that it would be foolish to hope for more - even more than how he already feels when he has these thoughts.

He sighs, shaking his head. He doesn’t need to think about _that_ now.

After checking his gear - spotless as always - Cody puts on his armor, leaving then his quarters towards the refectory. He’d rather eat now with the certainty that he’s going to be the only one - or at least one of the very few - around.

Not that he doesn’t enjoy the presence of his brothers, but before missions he’d rather have some time for himself in order to gather his thoughts and focus. He needs no teasing vod now.

As he enters, he’s pleased to see that he’s the first one there, good. At least like this he’s going to avoid very embarrassing situations like the one that happened yesterday at the showers; Waxer and Boil are always a big headache for him, the way only younger brothers can be, so he can’t deny having been a bit too happy when he assigned them to cleaning duty, that way they’re going to learn how to keep their mouth shut.

He picks up a tray and some food, but most importantly he takes two cups of caf - knowing well that he’s later going to refill at least one of them again - chuckling between himself at the memory of Helix harassing him for his “caf addition”, something that he clearly doesn’t have - he’s just blowing things out of proportion. He can’t be disappointed in him if he doesn’t see how much he actually drinks, right?

Just as he’s sat down, ready to “enjoy” his breakfast, he receives a call from his comm. Weird, it’s not general Maul, is…

“Wolffe.”

“Hello there, Kot’ika.”

Cody tries really hard not to sneer at that name; no matter how many times he tells Wolffe to stop calling him that, his batchmate continues doing it without any consideration about how he feels about it. Typical.

“Aren’t you deployed?” he asks then. He knows Wolffe wouldn’t call him for no good reason, so he can’t help but to worry that something has happened.

Noticing the way he’s beginning to tense, Wolffe is quick to reassure him:

“Relax, everything’s fine here,” he says. “Actually, it’s nighttime here.”

“So why are you calling me now?” Cody asks, back to being wary. If Wolffe isn’t contacting him for an emergency, then it means he just wants to bother him. The smirk on Wolffe’s face only confirms his theory.

“A little birdie told me about a certain someone that you’re going to work with for the next few days…”

“Who told you?” Cody asks, only to realize that he knows the answer already. That little… “Rex is a dead man.”

Wolffe laughs at his words, something so rare that despite what caused it, Cody can’t even be that mad at him.

“So…”

“So there is nothing to say,” Cody replies, firm. “I don’t know what Rex told you, but the relationship between me and general Maul is purely professional.”

What Cody says doesn’t match up with what Wolffe has been told and what little he’s seen - he can’t exactly say that he, Cody and general Maul being together is a common occurrence - which means that either the rumors are wrong or Cody’s lying, and Wolffe knows exactly which one it is.

“You’re full of poodoo,” he says in fact, “Big, stinky bantha poodoo.”

“Kriff off,” is Cody’s kind reply. Nothing unusual for the both of them.

“Your pining is worse than Bly’s.” Wolffe can’t help but to say.

“What does Bly have to do with this? Besides, didn’t he get together with his jedi?” Cody asks, confused. Wolffe shoots him a completely unimpressed look.

“That’s why I said you’re worse than him.”

“That’s it! Next time we see each other, prepare yourself to have your shebs kicked!”

It’s time for their conversation to end, but not before Wolffe sends Cody a menacing grin.

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Looking forward to what?”

Both Cody and the holographic Wolffe turn towards the source of voice. While Wolffe casually greets him with an “Hi, Rex” Cody looks more pissed than his vod.

“What did you tell him?” he asks as Rex sets his trail of food right beside Cody’s, sitting on his left.

“The truth, vod,” Rex replies. “Maybe he can manage to get your head out of your shebs and face the truth.”

“There is no truth to face,” Cody says, waving his hand dismissively, “And even if there was… It’s not like I could do something about it, alright? So let’s just drop the subject before I decide that you are my least favorite brothers.”

At those words Rex and Wolffe exchange a gaze, at least as much as they can while the other is on another planet entirely.

“Cody…” Rex tries again, putting a hand on Cody’s shoulder, who thankfully doesn’t shove him away, “We didn’t mean to upset you--”

“Speak for yourself, I’m just here to have a good laugh,” Wolffe interrupts him, though he soon turns serious again. “But enough joking around. What’s wrong Cody?”

“Is this like the Bly situation?”

“No, Bly was dumb.”

“Hate to break it to you, vod,” Rex intervenes, “But so are you.”

Cody huffs, but apart from that he doesn’t react much, which says a lot without the need to add anything.

“Maul’s a Jedi,” he says then, looking down at his trail rather than his brothers.

“So is Skywalker, and the dude’s married,” Rex points out.

“And general Secura is a Jedi too. It still didn’t stop her,” Wolffe adds, making Cody sigh.

“I know, I just… Ugh! I don’t know, actually!”

Kote has always been difficult when it comes with emotional matters; it’s a curse he shares with Wolffe and Fox and many other brothers. They just haven’t been equipped with the right tools to deal with them.

Wolffe understands this quite well. Normally he’d leave his brother alone exactly for this reason, but he also wants him to be happy, and it pisses him off when he self-sabotages himself like this!

“So you admit you like him, right?” Rex asks.

“I thought we had already established that,” Cody finally admits. It’s a step in the right direction.

“And you don’t think he’d be interested because…”

“Because why should he like me back?”

Wolffe remembers all the times he’s seen Kote and Maul together, they way they looked at each other, the way they fought together…

“That’s bullshit,” he says then. This time it’s Cody’s turn to roll his eyes, stealing Wolffe’s signature move.

“I just don’t think it’s the right time now.”

This is even more confusing that Cody’s refusal to admit that he had feelings for general Maul in the first place.

“Why not?” Wolffe asks. He’s beginning to become done with all of this, but unfortunately he’s not there physically, so it’s not like he can bash Kote and general Maul’s heads together, so he’ll have to use his words for once.

“Didn’t you notice, my dear brother?” is Cody’s reply, “We’re in the middle of a war.”

“Didn’t stop the others,” Rex points out, though both he and Wolffe think they understand the sentiment. It’s certainly not an ideal time, but exactly because of the life they conduct he shouldn’t waste this chance. Although Rex doesn’t have enough courage to bring it up - because that’s a scenario he always tries his best not to consider - Wolffe doesn’t have this kind of problem.

“Cody, you could die any time,” he says in fact, voice deadly serious. “You’d rather die with the regret for what you weren’t able to do?”

Heavy silence fills the refectory.

Wolffe’s words are true, but this doesn’t make them hurt less: in war nothing is certain, and as much as one can hope to come out of it unscathed, that’s not always the case, especially for them. If Cody doesn’t take his chances now, he might never be able to do it again.

“I’ll ask him after the war,” is what Cody says, and it’s _final_ , both Rex and Wolffe can understand it from his voice. They could keep going at it for days and Cody still won’t change his mind. Stupid di’kut.

“As long as you do it,” Wolffe sighs. “Actually, if you don’t, then I’ll confess to him for you.”

“You won’t!” Cody squeaks immediately, which in turn only manages to convince Wolffe of the rightness of this choice.

“Oh I will, and it will be very embarrassing, trust me,” he threatens in fact, grinning almost manically at the juicy possibilities. He almost hopes Cody won’t confess anything now.

“I’ll bring a camera and the blackmail material,” Rex solemnly declares. Cody looks at him, betrayal evident in his eyes.

“You’re the absolute worst. You are not my brothers anymore,” he says, and after a tense pause… They all share a good laugh. See? In the end they love each other.

“Well, this is nice and all but…” Wolffe begins, yawning, “I think I’m going to retire for the night. Don’t you dare do anything stupid out there.”

“Same to you,” Cody replies, while Rex wavers his hand to say goodbye.

Wolffe rolls his eyes one last time before signing off, leaving Cody and Rex alone in the refectory.

“So…” Rex begins after a moment of silence. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’d say we already talked about it enough,” Cody replies immediately, sipping his - now cold - caf.

“Yes, but you’re also the king of repressing feelings, so…”

Cody gives Rex a half-hearted elbow.

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are,” Rex insists, though he doesn’t press the topic anymore, mostly because more people are beginning to arrive and he wouldn’t want to be overheard by someone who should mind his business.

They keep eating their meal in companionable silence as the refectory becomes louder and more alive by the second.

Rex would love to stay more, but he’d better go fetch general Skywalker and commander Tano since he still hasn’t seen them around, so once he’s done he gets up, taking his trail in hand.

“Well, see you on the battlefield,” he tells Cody then. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I should be the one saying it,” Cody replies with a smirk. “I’m not the one who has to run after Skywalker.”

“Point still stands,” Rex retorts, and with that, he walks away, leaving Cody alone.

This is the first time he admits his feelings to someone else. It was already a big deal when he finally did it to himself, but now more people know about them…

He’s not worried about the news going around because he knows Rex and Wolffe: they might love to tease him but they’d never betray his trust. Besides, he could sense that they asked him not out of simple curiosity but out of worry.

It’s true war is unpredictable, but he doesn’t feel like that alone is enough motivation to ask Maul out anyway. He doesn’t want to do it as marshal commander Cody, but as Cody and just Cody. This is something that he wants to cultivate outside the warzone, even if he knows that this way of thinking can be seen as naïve or too romantic, but that’s not going to change his mind.

He’d never tell it to anyone, but part of the reason why he wants to wait is that he still has to come to terms with this whole thing. It’s a lot, alright? Nobody on Kamino ever taught them this. It’s a new world that he’s navigating alone.

Is he afraid? A bit, even though he doesn’t like it, but well who likes being afraid? Nobody he supposes.

He sighs.

Now it’s not the time to think about that: they have a mission and Cody must focus on it. He’s a professional, damn it; he won’t let his feelings getting in the way, especially in situations like this one where even a small distraction can lead you to your death.

The mission will always come first, as for the rest… he’ll just have to see, he supposes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cody be like *repressing feelings*


	4. On the other side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul and Obi-Wan discuss a certain trooper.

If you ask Maul, he’d tell you that this day has started in the best of ways: not only he’s managed to get commander Cody for himself for a while, and was able to catch up with him, but he’s also got the chance to annoy Obi-Wan, which is something that he’ll never get enough of. Even though their relationship has greatly improved from that bitter rivalry that has characterized his first years as a jedi initiate, they still like to rib at each other.

To think that he used to be jealous of him, something that isn’t true anymore… except for one small detail, but that’s another story, something that he doesn’t want to think about now, not when they’re in the middle of a debrief.

Speaking of said debrief, if Maul has to keep staring at the holographic model of the factory, he’s going to cave his own eyes.

They’ve already discussed everything, why are they still there? Right, Obi-Wan would rather die than not to consider any tactical possibility, no matter how unlikely something is to happen. It’s not a wrong behavior per se - it’s good to prepare for anything - but it’s also oh so boring, and Maul can’t stand boring things, even though his station as a Jedi forces him to experience them quite often.

He ever so subtly moves his gaze towards the figure on Obi-Wan’s right. Cody is as professional as always, posture rigid and bucket on his head; a shame.

Maul knows well that he can’t afford to spare him more than an occasional glance, or else someone will notice his distraction and call it out, something that he doesn’t need at the moment.

Soon, however, he begins to tune out Obi-Wan’s voice, bringing his attention back only when Cody intervenes. Even then, however, he doesn’t really focus on what he’s saying, rather on how he’s saying it: his voice, his accent…

He’s already committed all that to memory since his and Cody’s first interactions, but listening to him has never stopped being fascinating. It may or may be not one of the excuses as to why he always tries to keep him for himself, so that he’ll be forced to speak to him.

It’s during moments like this that he appreciates how good he’s gotten at hiding his emotions, especially given how full this room is of Force sensitive people, between Obi-Wan, little Anakin - who isn’t that little anymore but since he hates being called that, Maul will continue until the day he dies - and padawan Tano.

If anyone picks up his thoughts it would be very embarrassing, that’s why he keeps quiet about them, though he supposes he’s not entirely unsubtle, if the way Obi-Wan stops him after they’re done tells him something.

While everyone else is beginning to leave, Obi-Wan tells him:

“Master Oppress… Would you mind staying here another few minutes?”

He does mind, actually, because he has the feeling that he’s not going to like what Obi-Wan wants to tell him, but well if he gets to annoy him some more, he can take a hit.

“Of course, master Kenobi,” he replies.

He has to fight with all his willpower not to turn around to glance at Cody who, having been dismissed, will probably join his brothers. If he turns towards him, Obi-Wan will certainly pick up on it and will mention something about it, so he’s not going to do it, though at this point he could’ve done it, because Obi-Wan isn’t as oblivious as he’d like him to be.

Once they’re alone, Obi-Wan rests his hands on his hips, staring at Maul with an unimpressed gaze.

“So?”

“… So?” Maul echoes. What does he want _this_ time?

“Are you going to try stealing Cody away this time too? I’ve already seen you looking at him instead of paying attention.”

At those words, Maul can’t help but to burst into laughter. Not that Obi-Wan is entirely wrong, because this is the only thing he’s still envious of him: Cody. Maul works alone, he’s a shadow, but even if he’d never admit it out loud, he longs for some company, Cody’s company that is; of course he’s a professional and he’d never actually try to steal him away, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t joke about it.

“What if I am?” he challenges, as if Obi-Wan could do anything to stop him. Just as he thought, his friend rolls his eyes.

“Why do I still deal with you?” he mutters under his breath, but loud enough to be heard by Maul.

“Because I’m a karking delight and you know it,” he replies immediately.

Obi-Wan doesn’t even say anything this time, he just looks at him with his eyebrow raised. Maul holds his gaze, but before they get locked into a staring contest that would last for ages - because neither of them would ever be willing to lose to the other - Maul receives a message to his comm; it’s Cody, telling him that he’s around if he wants to have another small debrief before their departure.

Even though he’s not showing it to Obi-Wan, he must’ve understood anyway what this is about, since it’s not the first time Maul and Cody meet up right before a mission.

“You’re going to him?” he asks, voice carefully neutral.

“Yes,” Maul replies, immediately. “You can’t stop me.”

“I wouldn’t-- Maul, I’m no trying to stop you,” Obi-Wan says, realizing now that there has been a misunderstanding. “I’m just worried for you. Both of you.”

Now it’s Maul’s turn to rise an eyebrow at him, prompting him to continue.

“You’re obviously both holding back but… aren’t you hurting each other like this? Is this because you’re sticking to the code? I just don’t understand what you’re trying to accomplish, leading him on but never doing anything about it. And he does the same thing too! Is this some sort of game that I’m not privy to?”

“It’s not that…” Maul replies, though he doesn’t continue immediately. It’s not even that he doesn’t know how to explain it to Obi-Wan, because he knows how, and he’s sure that he would even understand, but… Some things you just have to keep to yourself, right?

Despite Maul acting like an open book, there are many things he actually keeps from himself; it’s a habit he picked from the start, when he was still unsure of his place in the Order - a dathomirian zabrak being a Jedi? That was just unheard of. Even though that feeling of not belonging soon became an unstoppable desire to rebel, he also rarely disclosed the deepest pits of himself to others. Even now, with the people he considers friends, not always he’s able to do it.

Cody seems to be the only exception to this: with him, Maul has never feared to be judged, even when it turned out that what he said was very dumb - Cody never fails to point it out, but the smile on his face as he does it makes it always worth it. This is but one of the many ways that Cody makes Maul feel at ease.

Eventually, however, he’ll have to give Obi-Wan a concrete response, he owes him that, especially since he’s acting out of worry not just for him, but for Cody too. After all, he’s both their friend.

“It wouldn’t be right, at the moment,” he begins to explain. “I’m a general, he’s a commander. The chain of command expects him to follow my orders.”

By the face Obi-Wan makes, it’s obvious that he’s understood what he’s implying.

“You think you’d be coercing Cody?”

And that, in the end, is the major problem with this entire matter.

When he nods, Obi-Wan immediately says:

“Oh, come now, I think we both know that it wouldn’t be the case. Whatever it is that you’ve got going on is completely mutual.”

That’s another thing Maul’s aware of; he didn’t mean to search inside Cody’s mind, and in a way he didn’t really do it. It happened a couple of months ago; like now, Maul had been assigned to help the 212th. The battle was just over, and as Maul was about to approach Obi-Wan and Cody to get an update on how things went on their side, Cody noticed his approach and started projecting such warm feelings towards him, that for a moment Maul was completely overwhelmed, it must’ve been the stress of that campaign what made him lower his guard - he hadn’t even noticed it. Long story short, from that moment on, Maul knew that the affection he felt for the commander is completely reciprocated.

In a way, things would’ve been easier if that wasn’t the case.

“That may be true, but we’d never be fully certain,” he says, for once carefully choosing his words. “Also, if someone finds out, what would they think? That the Jedi use their authority over the clones for…”

He doesn’t need to finish the sentence for Obi-Wan to understand. Yes, that _is_ a problem.

Ironic, isn’t it, that this is what Maul is more worried about rather than, say, the code?

Well, as long as he doesn’t become selfishly attached, he’s fine; that’s the conclusion he reached. Besides, he thinks, with how Cody is, he’d never allow Maul to choose him over his duty, knowing how important it is.

No, the true problem is whatever the public opinion would come up to discredit their supposed relationship.

It’s not even that he cares about what they’d say about him; he’s handled way worse growing up already - never perpetrated by the Jedi, however, as they always treated him with kindness. No, he cares about what they’d say about Cody, because they would surely gang up on him for whatever made up reason they’d come up with; that, he can’t stand for.

Besides, it would also make the entire GAR - and especially the Jedi - look incredibly bad. No, he can’t do it.

“Well…” Obi-Wan begins then, scratching his beard, “The war won’t last forever, isn’t that right?”

Maul huffs, rolling his eyes.

“As if this wasn’t the plan from the beginning, _Kenobi_ ,” he replies, because yes, he knows what Obi-Wan’s suggesting; it was his plan all along. Waiting until the end of the conflict sounds impossible, but he’s willing to do it for Cody. “So I need you to keep him alive when I’m not around, you understand?”

“I assure you,” Obi-Wan begins, smiling, “That he’s the one keeping me alive rather than the other way around…”

He turns serious, eyes still on Maul.

“But I promise you that I’ll do my best.”

Maul nods. That’s enough for him.

“Thank you,” he says, from the deepest of his heart. Obi-Wan goes back to smile.

“Now go, before we have to depart.”

Maul doesn’t bolt at those words, no matter what Obi-Wan will say later, he doesn’t

And if he hears Obi-Wan laugh as he hurries out of the room, well, he’ll make sure to make him pay the next time he has the occasion to do it.

At the moment, however, he has something completely different in mind: he needs to find Cody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maul be like *repressing feelings*


End file.
